


Caught

by Dragonlingdar



Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Boats and Ships, F/M, Girl Saves Boy, mermaid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-23 08:51:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19696825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonlingdar/pseuds/Dragonlingdar
Summary: The sea has her moods, and captures both men and merfolk at her whim.





	Caught

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nightmoonz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightmoonz/gifts).



> Soooo....have some Tressa and Leon. This is a two-perspective fic, and I hope that the shift is obvious enough.
> 
> As an aside, I am not your assigned creator; nevertheless, I hope you are satisfied by my offering as well.
> 
> I am a fossil, so: Nothing Octopath Traveler belongs to me.

**Tressa**

Tressa’s parents had always told her that she was far too curious for her own good and that, one day, it would get her in trouble.

She hated to admit it, but they were right.

Once she had reached the age of majority, she had left the deeper, safer waters of her home to explore--the wreckage and strange objects that drifted down to their home were too intriguing for her  _ not  _ to. She had to see where everything was coming from and what its purpose was. 

The closer she had got to surface waters, the more it had stunk, and in places it was hard to  _ breathe _ from the strange chemicals that permeated the water. That did little to deter her curiosity--if other creatures could adapt to the pollution and survive, then so could she. She learned  _ very _ quickly to avoid boats and fishing nets, and to be wary of those who lived above the water--humans, her father called them. They could travel both in and out of the water, although it was clear that they weren’t built for aquatic life, given how often they had to return to the surface and how they needed to use special equipment to breathe underwater. 

They were fascinating, dangerous, and, in Tressa’s opinion, way too smart for their own good. 

Still, they had figured out how to trap lobsters and crabs and, after Tressa figured out how to correctly consume the surface crustaceans, she was more than happy to raid human traps when she fancied the meat. 

She didn’t usually run the risk of getting trapped herself, but she still wasn’t entirely used to how volatile the surface waters could be. 

One day when the currents were stronger and stranger than usual, she found that, in trying to free a lobster from its trap, she was captured herself by some rope and tangled in swirling netting.

_ Gods damnit _ , she thought as she struggled to free herself.  _ Gods  _ damnit _. I hate humans sometimes! I just wanted some lobster and the humans make it so much easier with their traps but I wasn’t paying attention and-- _

Tressa startled as the net jerked upward. She tried to claw and hold onto the sea floor, but the human in the ship that appeared above her was clearly using something stronger than just their body to haul up the trap--and, incidentally, her. She grabbed the sharp shell she used to keep her hair out of her face and tried to saw at the rope, but ended up breaking the shell instead. 

_ Just because I can breathe air doesn’t mean I want to! _ She thought, but the progress upwards was inexorable. She could already see the surface, and all her struggling had done was entangle her even tighter. 

_ Well, I will  _ not _ be dragged there upside down like some stupid fish, _ she thought and leveraged herself so she was sitting on the trap as best she could.  _ Maybe I’ll surprise the human enough that they’ll accidentally drop everything--myself included--back into the sea. Stupid lobster. _

Tressa’s head broke the surface, and she pushed her hair out of her eyes, as her attempt to break free had freed her hair to get in the way. For a moment she was drowning as her body directly absorbed the oxygen from the atmosphere. However, a heartbeat later her gills had closed and her body secreted a fine mucus to protect itself. She convulsed and heaved until she coughed out all the water that had been in her lungs, which allowed her to breathe the oxygen in the air. Tressa made sure to keep her spine straight, even if her dignity was slightly offset by how she was caught in the netting, her tail entangled in rope. 

Tressa heard a sound that was  _ clearly _ one of shock and, after blinking a few times to acclimate her eyes, she turned her attention to the human standing on the deck of the ship. 

They were staring at her with slack-jawed awe, which made her feel a little smug. She knew she wasn’t one of the more  _ attractive _ species of mermaids--those were sirens--but she hadn’t lacked suitors before she decided she liked exploring new seas more than exploring their bodies. The human was alone on the ship, for which she was grateful. They were wearing special body ornaments that Tressa had decided kept them safe from the cold and salt water; in spite of the bulky and garishly colored ornamentation, they seemed one of the more aesthetically pleasing members of the species with long, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. They appeared to gather themself, then quickly performed a few maneuvers on the machine that had hauled Tressa and her intended lunch and set her down gently on the deck. The trap gave dangerously under her weight now that it wasn’t being fully supported by abnormally strong rope or water, but she kept her balance. 

The human approached her, knelt down, and Tressa could finally determine that they were a male human. He held out his hands, showing her that he carried no weapon. He spoke, but Tressa had never learned how to speak the human language, so simply shook her head.

_ Hopefully he’ll get the hint, _ Tressa thought,  _ since I can’t communicate with him otherwise. _

Frustration crossed his face, and he gently touched the rope that had coiled itself around Tressa’s tail. He made an untying and cutting motion with his hands, so Tressa nodded. If he tried to hurt her, he’d find out the painful way that she was venomous--assuming her claws cut through the human’s equipment. 

The human pulled something out of the many containers on his body, and a sharp blade appeared from within the depths. He carefully slid the instrument under the rope and began to saw at it. He braced himself carefully against his equipment as she imperiously watched him.

It was better than showing how terrified she was. He could just as easily hurt her, and she didn't want to feel the bite of his blade herself.

It was agonizingly slow work, but the rope eventually fell away from her tail. She twitched her tail cautiously and sighed in relief when everything responded like it should; feeling rushed back into the places that had started to tingle. The human moved slowly and deliberately around her, cutting her free of the netting as well. 

It was fascinating, watching him move on legs, how dexterous his fingers were, how expressive his face was. She caught him frequently looking at her, incredulity and wonder in the quiet words he murmured as he worked. 

Eventually, she was free and a strange sort of awkward silence fell between them. 

_I have to thank him_ somehow _,_ Tressa thought and looked around. She had a few larger scales on her tail that were close to coming off due to abrasion from the rope, so finished the job on them, then turned to the human and held them out to him. It was the best she could do, given that she didn’t know what humans liked while also knowing that humans didn’t run into merfolk like herself all that often, if ever.

The man looked between her and her hand, then carefully took the scales from her, the gesture almost reverent. 

She slid off the trap, unlatched it, took the lobster, gave him a nod, and slid back into the sea. The shout that followed her under was one of amused indignation. Her body adapted more quickly to the sea than it had to air, and she returned to the depths, lobster and story in hand.

**Leon**

“Where’d you get the new bling, Cap’n?” Mikk asked as he unmoored them from the dock. 

Leon looked down at the iridescent scales and shook his head. Leon kept his meeting with the mermaid a closely guarded secret--who would believe him, anyway? 

_ I still don’t believe it, really, _ he thought as he said aloud, “Baltazar bought them for me when he was traveling. He said that they were a good luck charm for fishing."

"Certainly seems like 'ey've worked!" Makk said.

"So it does," Leon agreed. His catches had been exceptionally good as of late, preternaturally so. He was distantly worried about when his luck would run out, but didn't want to jinx himself.

"The sea is supposed to be fine, so I was thinking of doing some fishing farther from the shore," Leon said. "What say you?"

Mikk and Makk were both seasoned fishermen, which was the only reason Leon felt comfortable offering the suggestion. Both men went still and felt the wind, tasted the air, and each nodded.

"Aye, Cap'n! The forecast was good and the sea seems fair," Makk responded.

"Then heave off into deeper waters!" Leon said.

Together, the three of them ran a tight ship, and they were soon hauling in surprising catches from the deeper water. 

_ It feels almost too good to be true, _ Leon thought as they secured their catch in the hold.

However, after a few hours, the sea began to turn sour on them, the waves growing choppy and the wind brisk. They all listened to weather reports with almost religious fervor and individually had a sense for the sea, so the fact that she was turning against them was odd--but, she had her moods. 

“We should head back, Cap’n,” Makk called from the cabin. There were many ways to die, and drowning was one of the worst.

"Aye," Leon agreed, the sea bucking under them.

Leon and Mikk quickly checked that everything was as secure as possible before Leon called out, “Let’s get moving!”

They turned back towards home, but the weather and waves were quickly worsening.

_ The forecast didn’t say it would be anything like this! _ Leon thought as he hung onto the ship as it rode the crest of a wave before coming slamming down in the lull.  _ If I die, Erhardt and Baltazar will both try to find a way to drag me out of the afterlife, if only so Erhardt can yell at me for dying.  _

The thought actually made Leon smile faintly.  _ Knowing Erhardt, he might actually  _ succeed.

Leon had once read a statistic somewhere that more accidents occur within a mile of home than at any other distance. Shallower waters made the sea even rougher, but home and safety was in sight. The harbor was visible even as it began to rain heavily.

“Almost there!” Leon called out, although whether it for Mikk and Makk’s sake or his own was up to debate. 

However, it appeared that the sea was determined to claim at least one of them, as higher and higher waves kept crashing onto their deck with increasing force, making them almost spin helplessly between lull and crest.

“We’ll make it!” Leon yelled, sticking out his head to catch Mikk’s attention. “Equipment be damned, if we lose something, we lose something. Get in here!”

“Aye, Cap’n,” Mikk responded and struggled his way across the deck towards the cabin. However, a particularly violent wave crashed into the ship then, and Leon saw Mikk stagger and slam  _ hard _ into the side of the ship. He went still.

“Makk, get us home,” Leon snapped before making his way out into the foul weather.

_ I’m not losing you! _ Leon thought and carefully half-crawled his way across the deck. He quickly checked Mikk’s pulse--still alive--and pulled him with agonizing slowness across the deck and to the cabin. However, just as he had shoved Mikk through the cabin door, the sea  _ heaved _ beneath them and a wave crashed over the deck and even Leon’s three-point grip wasn’t enough to keep him stable. He slid away and everything that he grasped at and for slipped away from him or through his hands until there was nothing solid beneath him anymore. For a moment, he felt almost suspended in time, the water rushing around him as he hung in the air, as he was treated to one final look at his boat before he hit the sea. 

If the sea was in a fair mood, Leon could shed his gear relatively quickly. However, with the waters rough, he was turned around and had a hard time squirming his way out--the cold didn’t help much either. He had trained himself to hold onto his breath for around seven minutes, but that was under ideal conditions and not the kind of stress he was facing. 

_ I’m sorry for all the times I switched our lunches when we were kids, Erhardt, and for all the stupid, hurtful shit I said to you when we both let our tempers get the better of us, _ Leon thought as a chill started to settle into his bones and his lungs began to ache. _ I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye, Baltazar, I should’ve listened to your intuition today. Whatever god is listening, please, get Mikk and Makk to shore safely. _

His vision started to grow dim, but he kept on trying to worm his way out of his equipment. He had just managed to get out of the overalls when he felt a strong, if slight, arm wrap around his waist. He managed to not gasp in surprise as he was pulled upward far faster than he could swim, and his head broke the surface quickly enough that it was almost a shock to feel the air. He took in a long, deep breath before he was pulled forcibly under again. Leon struggled to see what exactly was moving him, but then he was off again, this time headed towards the shore. He was brought up periodically for air before dragged back under to avoid the roughest of surface waves. It still wasn’t easy swimming, but it was much easier than if he had stayed on the surface. Leon hated being dead weight, but he felt that any help he tried to provide would be more of a hindrance. Each time they broke the surface, Leon saw that they were both closer to land but also farther from the port. 

_ Avoiding humans, perhaps, _ Leon thought and surrendered to the back and forth of air and water. Eventually, Leon could see the sea floor again, and when they came up, it was to see a fairly familiar landmark. However, He was veered a little farther north and was pulled under, the sea floor once again dipping into darkness. A few breaths later, he found himself looking a shelf of rock and, beneath it, an opening. Even though his ears popped a little from the change in pressure when they surfaced again, the waves were gone and he found himself in a cavernous area. Dim light and rain came through cracks in the ceiling and walls, and he could see a small path leading out. The place smelled of cigarette smoke and salt--from the trash he could see, the grotto was someplace known by the locals. 

He was pulled towards the edge and, finally having the wherewithal to look around, turned his torso enough to see what was beside him.

A sinuous form swam beside him, staying beneath the water. The water was murky and the light was poor, but Leon could see that the torso of the creature was lithe and humanoid, a mottled black/grey/white/blue patterning across its back, shoulders, and what of its arms that Leon could see. That camouflaged flesh faded into a darker black/green  piscine tail, a small dorsal fin fading into a slightly gauzy flesh that undulated with the movements of the tail. From the slight blue glow from beneath it, Leon would hazard that photophores lined its stomach, which would probably help with counter-shading as it ascended from whatever depths it lived in. Short, choppy brown hair that glittered slightly swayed around a humanoid head, and Leon’s heart began to race.

_ Perhaps…? _

Leon butted up against what felt like rock, and instinctively clung to it. The support around his waist was removed, but he desperately reached out. 

“Wait! I need to thank you!” he said, his voice slightly raspy from salt, cold, and nearly dying. “Please.”

For a moment, Leon despaired that his savior had left, but, after an agonizing wait, the top of a head breached the surface, just enough for hair and eyes, the rest of the body staying under.

Leon would never forget the bright green of her eyes. 

“Thank you for saving me,” he said aloud, even though he was sure she didn’t understand his language. “Here…”

Leon rifled around in the pockets of the pants he had retained, and came up with nothing until his hand went to his chest.

Along with the mermaid scale necklace, he wore another, one with two rings on a hardy gold chain. The rings belonged to his parents, and Erhardt had given them to him upon their deaths.

“I would just sell them,” he had told Leon as he handed over a black velvet bag. “They’re yours.”

Leon took off the necklace and, on a whim, kept one ring for himself--his father’s--before handing over both necklace and remaining ring to the mermaid. 

“For you,” he said. “Although I’m not sure what you’ll do with it.”

Her eyes flickered between his hand, the jewelry, and his eyes before she gently pressed her hands up beneath his. They were smooth, almost like when he had touched a dolphin, although he could feel delicate barbs at the end of each of her ‘fingers’. He released his hold on the necklace and it fell through his fingers and into her waiting palms. She ducked under water, and Leon followed her, even though he kept one hand on the rock.

Thankfully, she had only gone far enough down to be comfortable, as she was turning the necklace over in her hands.

He had been right in thinking that her stomach was covered in photophores. They hadn’t been visible in the sunlight and on land, but they were dazzling under water, a thin layer of swirling blue light. Delicate, frilled gills were on either side of her neck, with a secondary set in between some of her ribs. She had the suggestion of breasts on her chest, but Leon figured that it would be far too much drag to have the same kind of figure as a human woman while living in the ocean, her musculature and form much more streamlined. Her hands were fully webbed, even though her thumb was free, and Leon had been right in feeling that each finger ended in a wicked-looking barb. She had no ears, but large, expressive eyes the same shade of the sea when she was in her most gentle mood. Her face was both alien and familiar, adapted to life underwater while also being distinctly  _ human _ .

_ Did they revoke the land and return to the sea eons ago? Or did they simply never leave? _ Leon idly wondered. He had been too thunderstruck upon finding the mermaid caught in his net to really absorb her beauty. 

She looked over to him and her eyes roamed his body before she put the necklace on the way that he was wearing the one he had made of her scales.  _ That _ actually caught her attention, and she shifted closer, her hand slipping under the chain so she could get a better look.

Leon held incredibly still, hoping that she didn’t decide to hurt him while also finding her presence...overwhelming. 

She actually  _ smiled _ and let his necklace fall back to his chest before pulling away. She nodded to him, then turned away and back down into the darkness, the lights on her stomach briefly illuminating stone before she was gone.

Leon realized that his lungs were burning from lack of air, so he pulled himself back up to the surface and compulsively took in long, deep breaths.

_ I wish...I wish I could know if mermaids had names, because I would like to know hers and tell her mine, _ Leon thought as he heaved himself out of the sea and onto land again.  _ And hope that, one day, we can meet without either of us being in mortal danger. _


End file.
